Tag Archives: shimmer magazine

These days, the news feels like a relentless cycle of horror. Every day, every hour, brings something new and terrifying. It’s hard not to cringe, while looking at social media or scanning headlines, reflexively tensing for whatever new blow is sure to fall.

But I’m not here to talk about the bad things. I’m here to talk about one very good thing, a lovely thing that has been bringing joy and art and beauty into the world for thirteen years – Shimmer Magazine. While this post is a celebration of a fine publication and the hard-working badgers who bring its digital and physical pages to life, it is a bittersweet post as well. A farewell. Recently, Shimmer announced it will be closing its pages for the last time this coming November. It will be very much missed.

Since 2005, Shimmer has consistently published gorgeous, dreamy, gut-punching, heart-wrenching and haunting stories. These are stories about outer space and unseen realms, the living, the dead, the possible and the impossible. Its pages are full of realms that were and might be and never were – magic, love, friendship, ghosts, witches, birds, and so much more. Above all, stories that were and are undeniably…shimmery.

I’ve had the good fortune to be published by Shimmer on several occasions. When I was first starting out as a baby writer, Shimmer was a publication I aspired to. My first acceptance from them was a dream come true, and that thrill never went away. Publisher Beth Wodzinski, Senior Editor E. Catherine Tobler, and the entire Shimmer team have always been a joy to work with. My favorite piece of editorial advice, in fact, came from Shimmer, and it was simply this: add more tentacles. That, my friends, is never ever the wrong answer, no matter the situation.

Even though the era of Shimmer is ending, it will always have a special place in my heart. Rather than mourn its loss, now seems like the perfect time to celebrate its exsistence by highlighting some of my favorite Shimmer stories (or least my favorites since I started keeping track). There are a lot to choose from. In these dark times, may I suggest pouring yourself your favorite beverage, snuggling up with a pet or a loved one, and reading something beautiful as an act of resistance? Browse through Shimmer’s vast archives, and you’re bound to find something that strikes your fancy. I certainly did.

It’s Sunday again? How did that happen? But, since it is indeed Sunday, regardless of whether or not I approve, that means it’s time for pimpin’.

First, Apex Magazine is having a subscription drive. A year of incredible fiction, and a chance to win fabulous prizes – it’s a win-win situation!

Second, the nomination period for the This is Horror Awards is now open. There are a plethora of categories. In addition to the standard Movie of the Year, Novel of the Year, Magazine of the Year (Psst! The Journal of Unlikely Entomology publishes horror. Hey! Who said that? Certainly not me. Nope. No one here but us chickens.), etc., they have categories like Tattoo Artist of the Year and Event of the Year. How cool is that? Nominations are, appropriately enough, open until Halloween.

Finally, you should all sign up for Shimmer’s newsletter. Not only is Shimmer a fantastic publication (in all senses of the word), but if you sign up for their e-mail list, you get an extra special bonus story by Kelly Barnhill. And it’s a good one.

That’s it for this week. Anything you want to pimp? Drop a note in the comments!